


Book Of Self-Ship

by GodofRock



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: M/M, Self-Insert, Selfship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25340941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodofRock/pseuds/GodofRock
Summary: I gave in and wanted to try writing a few self-ship fics, hahaIt's basically just a few works to feed my own cravings with my favorite boys
Relationships: Jinguuji Ren/OC, Kurosaki Ranmaru/OC
Kudos: 4





	1. Non-Verbal Communication

Ren enters the apartment, expecting to hear the television running. Elijah often left it on while he wrote which seemed to be most of what he usually did, especially when Ren wasn’t around. Ren had learned quickly that Elijah was terrible at multi-tasking and he was easily distracted, but he always needed to have something playing in the background because he hated silence more than he hated being distracted. 

Not that it seemed to matter. When Elijah needed to get something done, he managed. Ren often teased him about his procrastination, and about how it was nearly unbelievable how much he could get done under stress. 

Ren had _also_ told him quite a few times that he’d be much less stressed if he just didn’t wait until the last moment, but he wasn’t surprised that Elijah rarely listened to him there. 

But when Ren fully enters the apartment the television is off, his laptop is on the couch and the bedroom door is closed. Ren takes off his jacket and deposits his shoes by the door before heading towards the bedroom. Elijah often had trouble sleeping- unless he stayed up all night, which was also a fairly common occurrence. Ren had accidentally fallen asleep early last night, so he wasn’t sure if Elijah had actually slept or not. 

He still didn’t have an answer with the way that Elijah is laying down, his phone playing a video. He clearly wasn’t asleep, especially with the way he jumps up when Ren enters. Ren’s smile is a mix of amused and exasperated when he realizes that Elijah has clearly gone down a binge of videos. He believes this one was something about clothing, but that’s all he can tell from the stopped video. 

“Ren.” Elijah watches him, fumbling to turn off his phone and climb out of the bed. Elijah often tended to tangle himself in the blankets because he was restless, even when awake, and Ren steps forward to help him untangle himself. Elijah gives him a thankful, if not a bit awkward, grin. “Thanks.”

Ren chuckles fondly, pressing a kiss to Elijah’s forehead. “Of course.”

Elijah’s eyes flicker between Ren’s, and Ren can’t help his chuckle, running his hands through Elijah’s hair. 

“What is it?”

“Are you sure you want to know? It’s kind of silly.” Elijah squirms. Despite his words, it was clear that he _wanted_ to talk about it. Ren had gotten used to it- he didn’t mind encouraging him to speak. Even if Elijah did believe what he was speaking about was silly. 

Ren moves to the bed, pulling one of his legs up so that he can turn, giving Elijah his full attention. “Of course I do.”

Elijah turns, pulling both legs onto the bed to cross them. His hands start holding onto his ankles. “I was watching one of those videos, the ones about the weird obsessions, and I’ve decided I want to be a living doll.” Elijah’s voice is firm and his face is serious, but he can’t help but smile when Ren does. Elijah’s hands move from ankles already, to gesture in the air. His face is serious. Interested- but his hands move quickly, conveying his excitement at the topic. “It’s actually really cool, but I’ve always liked the really fancy dresses. Lolita, I think was one of the main styles. I don’t know that Lolita would really fit me, though.” Elijah sighs, his hands dropping back to the bed with a slight frown. He shifts, stretching one of his legs out, resting it next to Ren’s side. One of his hands moves to his own face, his expression a bit thoughtful, tracing over his lips. “I should try to get better at makeup.” Ren’s eyes trail Elijah’s thumb, brushing over his own lip.

Ren was paying attention. He just was paying attention to more than _just_ Elijah’s words. Sometimes Elijah could speak calmly. He always spoke a bit quickly, and it usually turned into a ramble, especially when Ren looked at him the way he was looking at him now because Ren’s expression was just so _focused_. But Ren loved it when Elijah got excited because his hands flew around and he couldn’t sit still. Elijah wasn’t a serious person when it came down to it - he was very dramatic, and he deflected to humor and sarcasm at any chance he had, and smiles weren’t rare. Ren loved his laugh, because it was never exactly the same, and some of them were downright _adorable_ , and Ren’s opinion wouldn’t be changed no matter how many times Elijah insisted that he was wrong about that. But Ren’s favorite thing was when Elijah launched into an excited ramble about something he was interested in, or when he went off about writing ideas he had-

Ren hardly even realizes that he’s leaned in during one of Elijah’s short breaks to try to sort out his thoughts, but he has, pressing his lips to Elijah’s. Ren has a satisfied, fond smile when he pulls back and takes Elijah’s reaction in. 

Elijah’s hands have stilled in the air and his eyes are too wide. His face is quickly reddening, and it’s only getting worse as he looks at Ren. He presses his hands to his face to try to hide his blush, but he then gives a flustered smile. 

“What was that for?” 

“You’re cute.”

“I’m not.” Elijah’s huff doesn’t sound very convincing, though he does let his hands drop from his face. It’s still red. 

“You are.” Ren insists. “And I think you’d be adorable in Lolita.”

“With the way you interrupted me, I’m surprised you were even listening.” Elijah shakes his head, but it’s soft, and he can’t fight the small smile growing on his face. 

“I always listen to you.” Ren shifts up onto his knee, and he leans down, slower this time, to brush his nose against Elijah’s with a soft, bright smile, though when he laughs, it’s teasing. “But sometimes you’re so cute I can’t help myself.” 

Elijah huffs. “If I accept it, will you stop calling me cute?”

That one gets an amused laugh out of Ren. “Probably not.”

Elijah sighs, but he quiets. Ren doesn’t find it awkward, but he can tell after a second that Elijah is struggling to come up with something to say to end the silence. Ren leans in for a soft, short kiss, almost a reassurance. 

Ren’s next smile is careful- and maybe even a bit _stern_. “Baby, did you _sleep_ last night?” Elijah just gives a sheepish grin, and Ren sighs, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t stay up all night.”

“I got a lot of writing done.” Elijah defends. 

“Your writing will still be there in the morning.” Ren says gently. “Haven’t you told me before you make a lot more mistakes when you’re tired?”

Elijah’s silence is, once again, a response in itself. 

Ren kisses Elijah’s forehead. “Why don’t we lay down and you can watch a few more videos on your phone?”

“Putting me to sleep?”

“I’m trying.”

“I’m not going to be able to spend time with you if I’m asleep.”

“We’re spending time together right now. That’s enough. And we always have tomorrow.”

“I _could_ stay awake longer.” 

Ren’s hand lifts, pressing to Elijah’s cheek, and despite himself, Elijah leans into the touch. It only takes a second for Elijah’s eyes to flutter closed, which gets a fond but exasperated smile back onto Ren’s face. “Mmhmm?”

“Shut up.” Elijah huffs with no real bite in his comeback. 

Ren chuckles. “Come on. Let’s lay down.” 

Elijah frowns, but he does get up when Ren’s hand retracts. Ren gets up, but it’s only to let Elijah into the bed before Ren gets in after him. With the way they lay, Ren’s chin lands on Elijah’s head and his arm wraps around Elijah’s waist, the blanket pulled just above his arm. Elijah puts on another Youtube video before he curls in, pressing himself a bit closer to Ren. After a moment, Ren’s hand trails up Elijah’s side to instead grab his hand. He doesn’t quite hold it, choosing to instead run his thumb over the back of Elijah’s hands before running his hand up to Elijah’s forearm, tracing one of his tattoos. 

Ren knows that’s what would begin to do him in, and he finds that he’s right when he finds Elijah’s eyes closing for long and longer periods, starting a bit when he wakes himself up. Ren reaches out to turn off the video, going to Elijah’s music app and quieting the volume as he plays one of the setlists before returning to his arm to continue. 

“Go to sleep, Eli.” Ren mumbles softly. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”


	2. Stealing

Elijah had worked with idols for a few months now as part of an internship. For the most part, it really was rewarding. It was interesting working with the idols, in getting to see different “behind the scenes” sets, events and _people_ , and he was sure it would help his theatre background. 

The building they worked in what what Elijah had expected. There were multiple larger rooms they used to hold sets, even larger rooms they used to build them, and then a variety of smaller rooms to hold the idols they were currently working with, and then a break room for the idols, one for the actual workers and another that usually held the interns. The idols were allowed in all three, though usually when they figured out that they went into the wrong one, they’d leave. 

The usual daily routine for Elijah was that he’d enter, and he’d be sent usually to go check on the idols just long enough to see if they needed anything. After that, he’d do lots of idle work- the kind of things that the real workers felt was beneath them. After that, he got his half an hour lunch. He usually packed his own lunch and kept it in the intern break room, and then after that he’d check on the idols one last time and finish with more idle work. 

The work he did was usually just barely different enough to avoid being boring, but he definitely preferred the two times a day he got to check on the idols, and overall, he liked his internship- even if it was a lot of work for nothing but experience.

Usually idols stuck around for a few weeks, to get as much work in as they could, and then they left. They came in groups, more often than not, and there was usually one group at a time. Elijah was one of three interns, but he had been there the longest, which meant that he was the only intern that worked directly with the idols at all, even though he usually spent that time running around to grab water bottles, or someone else, or some small thing that the idol needed. 

The most recent group coming in was a band under the name of Quartet Night. They were under the same Agency as a band that had been by not long ago, STARISH. 

Elijah had stopped by each room, though most of the group had dismissed him quickly. 

The first idol he had dropped in on was Camus- who had taken one look at him and had very quickly excused him. Elijah had dealt with quite a few types of idols, and he can’t say he was really put off by the cold demeanor. 

The next idol he had visited was Ai Mikaze. He was politer than Camus, but there wasn’t anything that Elijah could get for him and Elijah had been dismissed fairly quickly there, too. 

Two out of four. Elijah wasn’t that bothered- while it was nice seeing the idols, it wasn’t as if he’d complain that they weren’t giving him more work to do. 

The next idol is Reiji Kotobuki. This is the first room that Elijah doesn’t just walk in and out of. Reiji doesn’t need anything from Elijah, but Elijah stays in the room for nearly ten minutes because Reiji was more than happy to start and upkeep a conversation. Elijah wasn’t necessarily the best at communicating with the overly friendly idols, but when they were Reiji friendly, it never seemed to be a problem. 

The last idol that Elijah has to check on is Ranmaru Kurosaki. Elijah can’t deny that he’s a bit taken aback in a good kind of way- because the man was attractive. All of the previous three idols had been, but this man struck Elijah differently. He still, of course, pulled out his professional manner, and had been given a gruff dismissal almost before he had even offered his assistance. 

With all of the idols not requiring him, Elijah set to work with all of the other tasks he had for the day. They were things like cleaning sets that would be used within the day, or going on a general coffee run for the permanent staff, or checking over the idol’s scripts for spelling errors. Today had been exceptionally busy, and by the time lunch rolled around, Elijah had been looking forward to sitting down and eating lunch. 

But when he enters the break room for the interns, he notices that the lunch he had set aside for himself was gone, and his eyes narrow. He lets out an audible huff, picking up his tupperware and putting it back down, rattling the empty container. Perhaps he would have been less childish about the gesture if he had realized he wasn’t alone. 

One of the idols, Ranmaru, had made his way into the doorway. He seemed to be about to say something, but his words die on his lips as they curl into an amused smirk. Elijah’s eyes narrow, before he snaps out of it, forcing his expression into something more polite. “Mister Kurosaki. Can I help you with something?”

“Ranmaru. I don’t do that last name bullshit.”

That seems to put Elijah just a bit off his game, but the only way his expression breaks is with the raise of his eyebrows. His speech, however, is still affected from the displeasure of finding his lunch gone. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Nah. Just stopped by while I was lookin’ around.”

“Well, this is the intern break room. I can show you to the idol one if you’d like.”

“You’re in a grumpy mood.” There’s obvious amusement in Ranmaru’s voice, and Eli huffs again. 

“I’m fine. Now-”

Ranmaru waves his hand dismissively, pushing off of the wall. “Don’t need ‘t show me. I’m leavin’.”

Elijah watches after him, blinking slowly, a bit confused. When Ranmaru’s gone from sight, Elijah returns to his grumbling in the privacy of the empty room, though he finds himself continuously glancing back at the doorway. Just in case. 

His lunch gets stolen for the next few days- and he notices that sometimes there are things that don’t get touched. 

So the next time he makes his meal, he puts in a whole bunch of things that hadn’t been eaten. It remains untouched the next day, though it comes at the cost of _Elijah_ not really wanting to eat it. Though, on that day, the kicker was the note. 

**could use more meat**

Clearly they must be messing with him, right?

That day Ranmaru stops by again. Every once in a while Ranmaru will show up in places he shouldn’t be, but Elijah has stopped offering to show him to places that he should, because he never takes Elijah up on the offer. The man is arrogant, gruff, sometimes rude and too straight forward- but Elijah finds that his company is actually pretty nice. He’s funny- though Elijah tries really hard to keep a professional appearance around him. He can’t be flirting with the idols, after all. 

Ranmaru makes that difficult. He doesn’t _flirt_ with Elijah, but he messes with him at every opportunity he gets because he thinks it’s hilarious, watching Elijah struggle to keep in his professional character. The only time his facade slips is at lunch, when his packed lunch disappears. 

“A note. A note!” Elijah grumbles. He hears Ranmaru laugh before he sees Ranmaru in the doorway. Ranmaru’s laugh was nice, but that isn’t something Elijah has any plans to admit. Especially when Ranmaru’s laugh is directed _at_ Elijah. 

“Yer lunch is still there, though, yeah?”

Elijah lids his lunch. “They’re taunting me.” Elijah then pauses, looking over at Ranmaru with only his eyes, not turning his head. He watches Ranmaru’s face through narrowed eyes. “Is my _stolen_ lunch a news topic?”

“Think it’s a safe assumption.” Ranmaru’s smirk returns. “Considerin’ the temper tantrum y’were throwin’ the first day it was gone.”

“It wasn’t a temper tantrum.” Elijah insists. 

“Sure.”

“Hmph.”

Ranmaru laughs, and he pushes himself off of the wall. “Enjoy yer lunch.” He eyes the container, but he looks about as into it as Elijah is. Elijah’s glare stays trained on his back as he leaves. 

The next two days are spent trying to catch exactly who was eating his lunch. He had baited them, following the notes smart-ass “advice” and adding more meat to the meals. The first lunch, he doesn’t get there early enough, and it’s gone. Elijah feels eyes on him, but when he looks, he only sees Ranmaru, and that isn’t actual evidence because Ranmaru likes to stare holes into Elijah while Elijah is trying to mind his own business. 

They both know it’s because if Ranmaru catches Elijah off guard, he’ll get flustered. To Ranmaru’s amusement and Elijah’s chagrin. 

And then, on the second day, Elijah gets there in time to see Ranmaru. Ranmaru actually hadn’t eaten any of it yet, but he’s more than happy to raise an eyebrow, make dead eye contact, and use a set of disposable chopsticks to bring a piece of meat to his mouth. Elijah doesn’t say anything- he just keeps his eyes narrowed. 

After a long moment of silence where Ranmaru’s eyebrow just stays raised as he _continues eating_ Elijah’s lunch, Elijah finally speaks up. “So it _was_ you.”

“Yeah.” Ranmaru doesn’t even finish chewing before he answers, just tucking the food into the side of his cheek so that he can talk. He waits until he swallows to continue. “What’re you gonna do about it?” Ranmaru’s grin is one of the most amused ones that Elijah’s seen yet, when Elijah can’t think up an answer. “You gonna fight me?”

“...Maybe I will.” It’s absolutely an idle threat. Even if Elijah _were_ a fighter- Ranmaru had to be at least twice his size. He was asking to lose this. 

“Then meet me outside in the parkin’ lot when the shoot’s over.” Ranmaru sets down the food, though all of the meat had been eaten at this point. 

“I will.” Elijah’s voice is a challenge, and Ranmaru meets it with a smirk as he leaves the otherwise empty intern lounge. 

Elijah’s work suffers the rest of the day, thinking about later, after work. He had no real want to fight Ranmaru- but it wasn’t like him to back down from anything, either. 

So despite the fact that Elijah’s nerves had been running raw all day, he still shows up in the parking lot, just as he said he would. Ranmaru’s waiting out there in his usual rocker dress, donning a beanie and some dark sunglasses, his hands shoved into the front pockets of his torn jeans. He looks relaxed. “You showed, huh?”

“I said I would.” Elijah pauses for a second, mustering up a glare that doesn’t quite have the bite he’s trying to force it to. “Why do you keep eating my lunch?”

Another laugh. For as serious and grumpy as the rocker usually was, he certainly had taken an enjoyment in teasing Elijah. And, apparently, stealing Elijah’s lunches. “Honestly? The first time it was an accident. One ‘a the techs told us that there was food in the idol’s lounge that was free fer all. I went ‘t the wrong one ‘n yer shit wasn’t marked. First day I actually came ‘t admit I accidentally ate your stuff, but the way you were huffin’ was funny.” 

Elijah takes it in, and he can feel his face burn red. In his opinion, he was frowning. In Ranmaru’s, it was a pout. 

“But now. C’mon.”

“...Huh?” Ranmaru was approaching him, but his hands were in his pockets and his stance was still relaxed. 

“I’m not gonna fuckin’ fight you. Instead, I’m gonna take you ‘t get some _good_ food.” Ranmaru teases, sounding smug. “I know a real good barbeque place. Now wipe that look off ‘a yer face ‘n get movin’.”


	3. Cat Dad

“I cleaned it.” Elijah says, almost defensively, with a bit of a sheepish grin. “But uh… forgive me if it isn’t… the _cleanest_. I have some pretty bad habits when it comes to that. And maybe too much stuff.” 

“Yeah. I know about the last one.” Elijah just rubs the back of his neck when Ranmaru rolls his eyes. 

“There’s one other thing I don’t think I’ve told you about.” Ranmaru narrows his eyes, but Elijah is focused on unlocking the door. Ranmaru is stopped before he can enter, after Elijah opens the door, because Elijah crouches down, managing to catch the large black _mass_ that tries to fly out of the door. Elijah lifts the cat, cradling her- and there’s a very annoyed look on the cat’s face. 

“A cat?” Ranmaru’s expression is far less suspicious and far more amused. “It’s giant.”

“She’s… a little overweight.” Elijah holds the cat as she starts squirming, entering his apartment with Ranmaru right behind him. “When I got her, I was told that cats stopped eating when they were full. If that’s true, she must be the exception. It definitely doesn’t slow her down.”

“Obviously. She make a break for it all the time?”

“Usually. She used to be an indoor outdoor cat, but… that’s not really an option in an apartment. I’m honestly a little nervous that she won’t come back.”

“She’s got a collar, though.”

“Well that doesn’t mean anything to _her_. Her loyalty lies with food.”

Ranmaru gives an almost exasperated chuckle, shaking his head as he closes the door. Elijah finally sets the cat down when it’s closed, taking care that the cat’s paws hit the floor before he lets her go. When he straightens up, Ranmaru squeezes his shoulder. “I’m sure that’s not true. Cats usually bond ‘t the people that care for ‘em.”

“Honestly I think that if anyone else let her into their bedroom that she’d be more than happy to live there. She gets mad that I close my door. She’s just… big. And pushy. And she bites you if you don’t cuddle her.”

That one gets a laugh out of Ranmaru. “Guess I’m not surprised that _you’d_ be the person complainin’ that their cat is _too_ affectionate. But she can’t just be ‘the cat’. What’s ‘er name?”

Elijah’s grin is actually a bit sheepish. “Orchid Beezlebubbles.” Ranmaru isn’t sure which name the expression comes from. 

“I take it she’s usually just Orchid?” There’s a heavy layer of amusement in his voice. 

“Well, she’s usually just ‘cat’, but for practicality sakes, yes. She’s usually just Orchid.”

Orchid has come over to sniff at Ranmaru’s leg, and Ranmaru crouches down. Orchid rubs against his knee and nudges his hand, and Ranmaru lifts his hand to pet her. “She _is_ real friendly.”

“You do also have quite the skill with cats, Maru.”

Orchid meows at him, when he stops petting her, the pause less than a few seconds. He chuckles as he returns to petting her. Elijah huffs when Orchid starts purring loudly. 

“She likes you more than me. It’s been five minutes! She never purrs for me.”

“C’mere.” Elijah raises an eyebrow, and it gets an eye roll from Ranmaru. “I mean down ‘ere, Eli.”

Elijah crouches, and Ranmaru’s hand leaves the cat, and she meows. Ranmaru grabs Elijah’s hand by the wrist, and brings it onto Orchid’s back, and she struts over to Elijah, pressing into his hand, though her tail curls on Ranmaru’s knee. 

“See?”

Elijah just sighs, shaking his head, but Ranmaru doesn’t miss the pink dusting on his cheeks, a bit embarrassed. It only gets a half-smug, half fond smile from Ranmaru. When Orchid has finally had enough, Ranmaru stands, stretching, before he offers a hand to Elijah. Elijah takes it, letting Ranmaru pull him to his feet, but Ranmaru doesn’t let go of Elijah’s hand when they’re up. 

“Yer apartment’s not _as_ bad as I thought it’d be.”

“I told you I cleaned.” It was still a little messy, with things piled in some corners, but it was definitely traversable. “I’d show you around- but other than my bedroom, what you see is what you get.”

It wasn’t quite _simple_ , because there were quite a few objects around. There were more than a few posters hung up in no particular way or order, and there were quite a few trinkets and books strewn about- though the most exciting thing in the apartment was definitely the two basses he had in the corner. For some time one of the strings on his red and white bass was off, and Elijah had thought it broken, but Ranmaru had told him to bring the bass over to Ranmaru’s apartment a few dates back and Ranmaru had managed to get it back in tune. 

Beyond that, there were the more basic areas- the living room with the computer screen as the TV because Elijah just didn’t watch enough TV to justify a larger one, his laptop and busted drawing tablet both still on the couch, and his two person dining room table, though he usually ate on the couch. The absolute cleanest part of his apartment was his kitchen- something normal for a chef like himself. The food to his room was closed- Elijah would show him it, but Ranmaru was spending the night. He’d see it later- and it didn’t really look much different than his living room did, it was just smaller. 

“We could… watch something?” Elijah suggests, his eyes shifting from the area in front of him to Ranmaru’s face. 

Ranmaru’s eyebrow raises, but there’s an expression in his eyes that is almost _teasing_. “You that bored already?” Ranmaru takes a step closer. Elijah doesn’t step back, but he’s wearing an almost doe-eyed look. “Or is there another reason you wanna watch TV?”

“You’re mean.” Elijah gives a far overdramatic sigh. “But if you _must_ know, I was really just planning to sit next to you on the couch.”

Ranmaru’s amused grin gets a huff out of Elijah. “You mean cuddle.”

“Call it what you want.” Elijah’s face is definitely a bit red. “...But yeah.”

“Sure. We can go watch somethin’.”

When they settle on the couch together, Ranmaru’s arm wraps itself around Elijah’s shoulders, and Elijah leans in instinctually. Elijah has barely put something on the TV- a random show that he and Ranmaru had started watching at Ranmaru’s apartment some time back, before Orchid jumps on the couch to worm her way in between the two. 

“I’m not surprised.” Elijah sighs. 

Ranmaru makes an amused noise. His arm is still on Elijah’s shoulders, but they’re forced to keep some space between them, Orchid taking both the space between them and also some space on both of their laps. Ranmaru’s free hand moves to pet her. 

They only watch one episode before Elijah lets his head fall back, resting against Ranmaru’s forearm. “I should probably make dinner.”

Ranmaru’s arm slowly leaves Elijah’s shoulders, and Orchid stretches out between them. He’s about to offer to make dinner _for_ Elijah, but the moment Elijah shifts to stand up, Orchid crawls her way onto Ranmaru’s lap and curls up. He doesn’t miss the small smile Elijah’s clearly trying to hide. “Lemme know if you need any help.”

“I will.” 

The conversation is fairly meaningless as Elijah cooks, and most of it consists of Elijah just rambling and Ranmaru putting his opinions in where they fit until Elijah has finished the food and has started plating it, and Ranmaru has to spend his time getting Elijah’s cat off of his lap. She leaves, but she takes a very long time to do it.

They’ve only been at the table for no longer than a two minutes when Orchid invites herself onto the table.

“Orchid!” The cat completely ignores Elijah, making a dash for Ranmaru’s plate. Elijah tries to stop her, but the plate had been just close enough and Ranmaru’s own reaction had been just slow enough for the cat to knock the entire plate on the floor. 

There’s a long few seconds of silence as Ranmaru stares at the plate, face down on the (luckily) tile floor of the apartment. It had made a loud noise, but the plate was still intact. When Ranmaru glances up, Elijah is still mostly standing, but he’s too still. 

It’s Ranmaru that manages to stop her before she gets over to Elijah’s plate, too, scooping her up and putting her back on the ground. 

Elijah has to take a second, to cover most of his face with a hand. “Damnitt… I’m sorry. I forgot to warn you about that.”

“She does this a lot?”

“It depends.” Elijah is a bit red, but he pushes his plate further onto the table, to go try to clean the plate, but Ranmaru waves him off, putting what food he can back onto the plate and standing to go take care of it. “She doesn’t like people food, but she likes making sure that no one can eat. I usually hold my plate on the couch-” When Orchid jumps up into Ranmaru’s empty chair, Elijah manages to shoo her off of it. “And she can’t really do much, then, but if I set it down where she can reach it, she’ll knock it over. I guess I hoped she wouldn’t if we were _right there_.”

“I’ll keep ‘n eye out on it, now that I know.” Ranmaru shakes his head. There was more than enough food left over for him to replace what he had lost, but when he sits back down, there’s a much firmer grip on his plate. Elijah finally takes his seat again, but he follows suit. 

Ranmaru has to take Orchid off of the table two more times, but he’s much quicker to react, especially when she continuously makes a dart towards either his plate or Eli’s.

Ranmaru takes Elijah’s dish when he’s done eating, and he removes them from the table. Elijah gives up on forcing Orchid off of the table when she jumps up again, though when she sees there’s nothing to knock off, she just lays down. 

“I had a rule, at some point, that she wasn’t allowed on the table.” Elijah sighs. “That obviously didn’t work out so well.”

“Cats don’t really like rules. ‘N she seems real stubborn.”

“Tell me about it.” There is a bit of amusement in Elijah’s voice as Ranmaru sets out to do the dishes. Elijah flashes him a thankful smile, though he does go over to offer his assistance. In the end, he mostly just ends up leaning against the counter, Ranmaru brushing him off when he tries to help. 

When Ranmaru is done, he turns, leaning against the sink and raising an eyebrow. “You’ve been watchin’ me real close fer the last couple ‘a minutes.”

“Is it too forward of me to ask you to come to the bedroom?” Elijah is grinning- and even when he manages to tone it down, he’s still smiling. 

“‘S not like it’d be the first time.” Ranmaru pushes himself off the counter. 

Elijah glances towards Orchid, still lazing on the table. “I think I’m going to keep her out again. It’s pretty selfish of me, but I think I’d prefer _with_ you- and not on the complete opposite side of the bed. She’s been hogging you tonight.”

Ranmaru laughs at that one, reaching out to ruffle Elijah’s hair. “Jealous of your cat?”

“Sure.” Elijah rolls his eyes, good naturedly. “I’m really jealous. I wish _I_ had thought to knock your food off the table first.”

“‘M sure this is a real wild opinion-” Ranmaru finally begins to make his way out of the kitchen, towards the closed door further in the apartment. “But I think I’d prefer you _not_ trashin’ my food.”

“What other way could I possibly show affection? I’ll make sure to scratch up your couches next time I’m at your place, too.”

“What would I do without you?”

Elijah has just caught up before Ranmaru has opened the door, and Orchid is already beginning to get up- interested. Ranmaru isn’t slow in entering the room, but Elijah is quicker, so that Orchid doesn’t slip her way in. Elijah’s bed wasn’t small, but Orchid could take up a lot of it and there was no hope of cuddling with Ranmaru if Orchid took her designated place in the middle of the bed. 

Ranmaru stops shortly inside of Elijah’s room, looking around. There are a few more piles in the room than there were in the living room, but what really draws his eye is the stuffed animal on the bed. 

The grey cat is in the lower corner, with a pile of yarn, covered in a small square of it- red, with a poor design of Ranmaru’s skull logo. Ranmaru walks closer, his eyes on the mini-blanket as opposed to the prince cat. 

Ranmaru laughs, looking at it, but his smile is fond- though Elijah’s face is bright red. “You made this? It’s cute.”

“I like to spoil my prince cat.” Elijah mumbles.

It gets another chuckle from Ranmaru. “Didn’t know you _could_ make things like this.”

Elijah nods as Ranmaru picks up the blanket. “I was pretty young when I learned to crochet. It’s pretty easy to make something basic like that. Unless you’re me, and you mess it up. It’s not stitched right- it’s pretty loose and it’s not even. ...I wanted to make a matching blanket, but I’m not sure that I have the right yarn _or_ the ability. I only really know one stitch.”

“‘M sure it’s turn out fine. ‘S just practice. ‘N the little blanket’s cute. Don’t beat yerself up so much.”

Elijah doesn’t say anything, but his expression has softened. Ranmaru just gathers the yarn, taking up a large part of the bed. 

“Where should I put these?”

“Oh- here-” Elijah takes the yarn from Ranmaru, just to go to struggle with a drawer on his wardrobe before Ranmaru opens it to spare him the trouble. Elijah forces the yarn into it, and then he goes to move the cat, but Ranmaru stops him with an arm on his shoulder. 

“The cat’s not in the way. He can stay.”

Elijah ends up not moving him, though he does adjust the cat, just a bit, sitting him up better towards the end of the bed. When Elijah gets into the bed, he takes the spot pressed against the wall to let Ranmaru have the open edge, the way they usually slept in Ranmaru’s bed. It was too early to sleep, still, but it wasn’t too early for a nap. To be fair, it usually wasn’t too early for a nap according to Ranmaru. 

Elijah wasn’t usually the napping kind of person, but he liked to lay down and daydream, and it was always a good excuse to be close to Ranmaru, the way they were now, with Ranmaru’s arms wrapping around Elijah, pulling Elijah into Ranmaru’s chest. 

“By the way.” Ranmaru says, a heavy layer of amusement in his voice. “I think it’s cute that you’ve got my cat.”

“He’s cute.”

Ranmaru grunts in agreement. “I’ve got one, too.” He admits. “I don’t really make it a habit ‘t collect my own shit, but the prince cat was an exception.”

Elijah finds himself smiling into Ranmaru’s chest. “I should bring my Granata next time I come over to your apartment. They could have a play date.”

Ranmaru snorts. “Oh my God.” He squeezes Elijah, and Elijah’s fairly certain that Ranmaru is rolling his eyes. “Sure.”

Ranmaru’s agreement gets a laugh out of Elijah. “I’m holding you to that.” Elijah waits for just a moment, and then he hums. “So, what do you think of Orchid?”

“She’s real friendly. ‘N she’s cute, ‘n really goddamned fast for as big as she is. She seems like a troublemaker, but I like ‘er. Definitely seems like _your_ cat.”

“Are you ready to adopt her?” Elijah teases. “To be her second cat dad?”

“That why you asked me over? Pawn off cat responsibility?”

“I’d call it introducing the two of you. But I think she likes you more than she likes me.”

Ranmaru clicks his tongue. “Dunno I’d say _that_ but-” Ranmaru pauses, long enough to press a kiss to the top of Elijah’s head, getting a happy hum from the boy in his arms. “Me ‘n your cat aren’t gonna have any problems gettin’ along.”

“...Cat dad?”

When Ranmaru laughs, Elijah can feel it. When he speaks, his tone is relenting. “Cat dad.”


End file.
